Phil Elverum's move toward a more confrontational style (read: less acoustic guitar, more drumblasts), was surprising, but it made sense. He wasn't making black metal, he was just taking the heavy textures and wash of drum clatter he enjoyed and plugging them into the sound he'd established as Mount Eerie. It's this push-and-pull that makes hisDaytrotter session interesting. Just by virtue of the Daytrotter studio vibe, these songs need to be a little calmer (we picture a lot of wicker chairs). "Ancient Questions"' faintly reverbed piano is a tiny bit reminiscent of Vince Guaraldi on a Peanuts kick, but mainly it, and the rest of the songs, walk the line between Elverum's new sound and his old—sloppy heaviness and timid steps into nature's wide expanse combining to make something that sits comfortably in the middle.
Download: Mount Eerie's Daytrotter Session
